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There are still a couple of months left for Thanksgiving. However, big retailers such as Best Buy, Walmart, Kohl’s, Target, and more are looking forward to a difference during this pandemic situation. It has been like a tradition for years that Black Friday and Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the official holiday shopping season. It is during this time of the year that customers flock everywhere to do their holiday shopping.
The kind of rush spending during this time is also the reason for calling it the “Black Friday.” It has been more than a decade when both this shopping day and Thanksgiving holiday has been crashing with each other. It seems like people who are supposed to gather around the dinner table with families are spending time at supermarkets. Now, the brands have collectively decided to bring a change, and there could be no situation as sensitive as this pandemic of 2020.
Welcoming new traditions
As per announcements made months in advance by the big supermarkets, they are going to break the tradition this year. It means that they will keep all stores closed on Thanksgiving. It will not just encourage customers to spend time with the family. Moreover, the staff working in these supermarkets will also be able to spend Thanksgiving Day the way they are meant to. While Walmart was the first to announce on July 21, Dick’s and Target did the same a few days later. Later, brands such as Kohl’s and Best Buy have also joined the wagon and made their respective announcements.
According to the statement of Best Buy, they are going to try and change lives on Thanksgiving this year. Moreover, they are enhancing their selling facilities. As a result, the pick-up options from stores will become more convenient. They are trying to work on the timely delivery of orders too. On the other hand, MD of Global Data, a retail consultancy, Neil Saunders says that he is expecting more stores to make a similar announcement in the upcoming days.
Balancing Thanksgiving Day sales
Saunders adds that no brand will want to encourage people crowding at their outlets in these terrible situations. No one will want to risk their health and safety. Moreover, the initiative of closing down stores on Thanksgiving is a way to encourage people to stay home, as well as maintaining better public safety too. After all, there is always a requirement of balancing safety and sales properly during this time. While on one hand, several retailers are yet to make an official announcement. On the other hand, there are organizations such as Apple who will anyway close down all outlets and franchises on Thanksgiving Day needless saying.
Amidst all the announcements, nobody is still answering the question of how they will handle the sales figures after the closing down the initiative. Usually, Black Friday is a massive sales day, and the retailers go crazy with the kind of business. However, it won’t be the same this year. Instead, retailers are planning to announce attractive deals earlier this year to balance the sales figures.